Petersen a tempting choice for Pumas battle
TEENAGE flyer Sergeal Petersen has put his hand up for what could be a dramatic recall to the EP Kings team to face the Pumas in the Currie Cup First Division final in Nelspruit on Friday.
Petersen made a winning start in his comeback when he scored two tries as the EP Kings under-19 team hammered Boland 45-30 in their B Division Currie Cup semifinal in Wellington on Friday.
Petersen, one of the stars of the Southern Super Rugby campaign, has left Kings senior coach David Maidza with much to ponder ahead of his team’s First Division final against the unbeaten Pumas.
With Petersen possessing the vital X-factor needed to win big matches, Maidza and his coaching staff might be tempted to throw the teen flyer into the deep end at the Mbombela Stadium.
Ahead of the U19 semifinal, Maidza said: “Sergeal is back for the U19 team and we have decided it might be too big a game for him to come into the first division semifinal against the Leopards. So we want Sergeal to have a bit of game time under his belt for the U19 side.”
It now remains to be seen whether Maidza feels Petersen has enough game time under his belt for what promises to be a titanic struggle against the Pumas.
A frustrating hamstring injury has sidelined Petersen for much of the season and the Kings coaching staff were reluctant to rush him back until his call-up for the U19 side at the weekend.
While Petersen led the try fest against Boland, the other players to dot down for the Kings in the big win were Alex Banfield, Juandre Fourie, Khaya Malotana and Selvyn Davids.
The accurate Davids also succeeded with six conversions while Banfield added a penalty.
The Kings will now play the Falcons in the U19 final on Friday in Nelspruit.
In what proved to be a successful day for all the Kings teams, their U21 team also progressed to their Currie Cup B Division final with an impressive 44-26 win over Griquas at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium.
The impressive Wayvern Smith led the way for the Kings with three tries while Siviwe Soyizwapi and Mzuvile Sofisa also dotted down.
Flyhalf Ruan Allerston contributed four conversions and three penalties to the total while Gavin Hauptfleish succeeded with a conversion.
Unbeaten this season, the Kings U21 team will now bid to round off their campaign with a win in the B Division final on Friday.
The Kings have dominated in the B Division this season and they will start favourites against a Boland side who reached the final with a 25-22 win over the Limpopo Blue Bulls.